Here's another chapter fron the same book on SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE VS. GOODNESS

"SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE VS. GOODNESS
I’d attained a good deal of spiritual knowledge from all the reading I did as a
teenager. But I was finding out that most of it was more of an impediment to my
growth than an aid. An early course by the elder monk Enoch burst the bubble of
my intellectual wisdom. Just as I was thinking to myself about how much I already
knew, and how I could really probably skip many of these courses, Enoch started
his lecture like this:
“Many people place too much importance on spiritual knowledge itself, and
don’t concentrate first on the basics of simple goodness, such as the virtues of
Unselfish Love. Knowledge is meaningless without this. Using imagination and
visualization, we can make a ‘mental illustration’ that clearly demonstrates this.
There is an ancient technique that can help you perceive, understand, and contemplate
the value and impact of a person’s character. We’ll use this technique to
compare the value of knowledge, as opposed to goodness. Here’s how it works:
Think about a person’s qualities and traits, and then imagine what the world would
be like if it were entirely populated by, and run by, billions of identical duplicates of
that one person. Keep in mind that if the entire world is populated by ‘so and so’s’
duplicates, some of them will also be in powerful political positions. There is an old
saying, ‘Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. Having power
tends to nurture the darkness within people. Even a little separateness and selfishness
is like a dormant cancer that can grow unchecked when fed by power. Some
people behave well when they’re ‘held in check’ by lack of wealth, lack of a position
of power, and constrained by society’s moral standards and laws. So when you
32
imagine a world full of ‘so and so’s’, you need to consider what they might become
if they were also in all the various positions of power - police, judges, head officers
of giant corporations, presidents, kings and queens? You get the idea. The overall
feeling and image you get of an imaginary world populated by any given indi -
vidual, will give you invaluable insight about them.
So for our knowledge vs. goodness contemplation, let’s think about what it
would be like in two different imaginary worlds. In this case, we don’t actually know
the people involved, but we can still use the technique to help us understand the
comparison. Let’s say the first world is entirely populated by duplicates of the one
person with the most, and greatest spiritual knowledge on Earth. Keep in mind
that this person, is still basically selfish (as most people are). Thus they may be nice
and friendly when things are ‘going their way’, and when nothing is required or
asked of them. But these ‘clones’ aren’t Unselfishly Loving, and have spent their
time and energy more on acquiring spiritual knowledge, instead of focusing on
developing, and practicing, kindness and harmlessness above all else. Thus their
world is full of people that aren’t particularly kind, are definitely not harmless,
happy, etc., and likewise, the population is definitely not self-sacrificing when
another person is in need. Yet they are all ‘egoed out’, each person thinking they
are very wise and ‘know it all’. So world #1 is still full of inequities and injustices of
all kinds, still has children starving to death needlessly, still has torture, wars, and all
the other evils, problems and destruction, that go along with a ‘look out for #1’,
‘dog-eat-dog’ world. I know those of you here don’t want to live in that world, and
many other people don’t either (yet isn’t it virtually the same as the outside world is
that we have now). So how useful is great spiritual knowledge alone?
For our second imaginary world, let’s think about what the world would be like
if it were entirely populated by duplicates of one REALLY ‘good’ person. Someone
with little knowledge, but with a ‘good heart’. Someone who is compassionate,
kind and harmless, and really cares about others. And they also have an attitude of
‘live and let live’, regardless of what others believe, think, and do (as long as they
don’t hurt someone else). That’s not too much to ask is it? Now, wouldn’t this
world be an incredibly better world than the one that people live in now? It would
obviously be a beautiful, happy place - no starvation, no hurt, no war, no economic
or physical enslavement, and no infringement on freedom.
So even in regard to the practical aspects of day to day life (and the condition
of the world in general), isn’t it obvious that the virtues of kindness and giving, are
far better (and truly ‘spiritual’) than any spiritual knowledge? And just imagine an
entire world populated by Unselfishly Loving ‘enlightened’ beings - it would be paradise,
Heaven on Earth.
SPIRITUALITY REQUIRES MORE THAN SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE"

Excellent. Knowledge of Truth alone is empty if one doesn't practice it.


"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
-Mahatma Ghandi-

~Om mani padme hum~Om mani padme hum~ ( I can still hear the singing in Nepal of this beautiful mantra in ref to compassion.)

So can we BE the change? We must become the compassion, the truth, the love, the nonjudgmental, etc. in order for the world to "change." Otherwise, we continue to see war - humans slaughtering/harming their fellow humans. We are capable of so much more; and that's one area I would say, imo, we ought 'let go' of attachment to the feelings. Feel the emotion, and let go of the "attachment" to the emotion after you've chewed it on it awhile. But do nothing to harm another. It IS our emotions, out of control, and need and greed for power that leads to the downfall of civilizations. When do we finally learn?

There are many points of view on this forum. Some were not at RSE for the abusive remarks and reprimands, yelling by the "red guard" and/or staff. Some here were verbally or otherwise in abusive situations at home or growing up. Some might still be working through these issues. Some might see or feel or experience a "trigger" when reading words that otherwise cause no problem for anyone else. It takes time, for some. Is it difficult to exercise understanding of these persons' situation? Are we not here to help get through the RSE aftermath?

We all have our own shoes, and unless we walk in the other's, we really can't know, but can only offer sensitivity and understanding to one another.

If people here begin to not care about these abusive issues, which can indeed by triggered by phrases of those not aware of the situations, and then see others LOL after it, then what purpose does this healing forum serve? It's abuse all over again, only, as I mentioned earlier, wearing another set of blinders-blind to that which others are groping through to become whole again. All are at different stages. I'm offering what I believe is important in helping to bring understanding. It's nothing to laugh at or poke fun at, when it can be a trigger for those still wrestling with the abuse of RSE combined with abusive language or otherwise in other areas of their lifetimes.

Imo, I believe everyone here has so much to offer in terms of experience, but yes, we do need to be sensitive to those who are desperately and courageously attempting to heal from the RSE holocaust.

Peace in the heart, peace at home, peace in the world -

Hi G2G..

This was a BRILLIANT Post... you WEAVED your words well... you are so right about the personal TRIGGERS.

Smile.

This POST should be one of the FIRST post people on this board read... and REMINDED of.

We all have our own issues that we are working through.

And sometimes, the ENERGY pulls the sting-lett and the emotional VOMITING begins. We have ALL been there done that.

On the Internet because we do not see the FACE or SOUND of the voice these subtle clues can be left out of our messages.. and the WORDS have a greater SELF-INVOLVED meaning.

Big Smiles.

G2G "Imo, I believe everyone here has so much to offer in terms of experience, but yes,
we do need to be sensitive to those who are desperately and courageously attempting
to heal from the RSE holocaust."

I do agree with you, and I must say that I was unaware of this when I first came on
this forum a few weeks ago. I think one of my posts realy hurted Christel and she
ended up by leaving this forum. I'm sincerely sory and if you're still reading,
Christel, please accept my apology.

Lavender "This POST should be one of the FIRST post people on this board read...
and REMINDED of."

OK, so here are some more excerpts from the same book, page 59 to 61 :

"As long as we don’t hurt each other, and we help each other when in need, who cares what
“beliefs” we have - religious, political, moral, or whatever. And I believe that’s
what’s most important, because I know that Unselfish Love is always beneficial.
That is one of my revamped beliefs, and I think it’s something we should be able to
universally agree upon. I Can. Can you? Will you? What can it hurt? Nothing.
What can it help? A great many things, like peace and kindness.

[...] what matters to me about you, is not really what you think or believe, what
religion you belong to, or if you’re an atheist, but how you conduct yourself. What
matters to me is whether or not you are a Loving, kind-acting, caring-thinking,
harmless person. Unfortunately, a person’s beliefs do greatly influence how they
think and act though.

[...] Regardless of whether or not you believe it, your beliefs control your destiny,
so they need to be closely scrutinized for what they create in your life. What
you think and believe greatly affect whether or not you are a saint, an evil monster,
and everything in between (like a somewhat kind person, or a somewhat mean person).

[...] Beliefs have a dominant and powerful effect on every aspect of our lives! People
even kill over beliefs.

...Religious beliefs are frequently based on faith, and they are most often something
we are ‘taught to believe’ early in life, by our family’s religious beliefs and reli -
gion. Other beliefs are absorbed also, from our cultures.
People don’t usually stop and think about the fact that something as seemingly
‘innocuous and insubstantial’ as our mere ‘beliefs’, really have much effect on our
lives. But they do - in fact, they not only have tremendous effects on our lives, but
they also control much of our destiny.”
“How can this be that just an idea, a belief, controls our destiny?”
“A belief itself is but an idea, it has no real substance. But we act based upon
our beliefs. The actions we take because of our beliefs, have effects. And only
the effects, the results, of those actions, are things we can see, feel, and grasp.
This is very important to realize. Because the effects of our actions, which result
from our beliefs, are precisely the things that can be used to determine the value,
good or bad, of any given belief. For instance, if you are kind to me because you
believe we are all brothers & sisters, your kind actions are something real, something
we can both know is good. Kind actions are transcendent of language, culture,
and whatever you or I may believe is spiritual truth. Likewise, if you are cruel
to me because of a belief, I will know it is a bad belief. These are obvious exam -
ples of course, and the results of many beliefs may be not so clear cut. Nevertheless,
all beliefs subsequently generate their own ‘thoughts’ and ‘actions’, good or bad.”
“So what should we believe for the greatest good for ourselves and the world?”
“Unselfishly Loving all beings [...] Caring about others, compassion, and kindness
are qualities of Unselfish Love. If these are things we can all agree are good, then
Unselfish Love can be used as a common, or Universal, measuring stick of goodness.

[...] Most people don’t even think about what they are creating as a
result of their beliefs. Do your beliefs further the manifestations of Unselfish Love,
or inhibit the manifestations of Unselfish Love? Do they breed anger, hatred, and
harm, or tranquility, love and healing? Do they make for a better life, or a worse
life? Do they make for a better world for others, or a worse world?
People have used their beliefs, and been driven by their beliefs, to hurt and
murder those with different beliefs. It can be over different beliefs about economics,
race, religion - you name it and people will kill over it. What insanity! Why?

[...] How much harm has been done in the names of God, Country, or Tribe? How much horror
and pain has been inflicted because someone has a different racial, national, tribal,
class, or religious belief? More than we can really grasp with our limited
brains.”

[...] Any individual who wants to grow, attain enlightenment, or be a really good
person, must completely re-evaluate their beliefs in the light of the effects those
beliefs have, where they came from, and why.

Druid,

Christel prefers to take some time away from EMF from time to time. She posts periodically.

Thanks for thinking of her !